Resolved: that we'll do better for Alabama in 2016 (opinion)

We spent a lot of time in Alabama in 2015, arguing over budgets and cutting programs and services to the bone, and now our political leaders are telling us that 2016 probably will bring a new round of sparring over more cuts to more agencies that have already been devastated.

This is no way to run a state - and it's a good reason to make a couple of New Year's resolutions, not just for ourselves, but also for our beloved Alabama. Resolved for 2016:

1)That state legislators will realize and accept the enormous responsibility they bear as representatives of the people.

Yes, their campaign contributions come mostly from businesses, special-interest groups and influential folks with big bank accounts. Even so, they are obligated to us - the people who walk into the polling places and cast our votes for them.

Sadly, however, although they make a lot of noise about serving their constituents, many of them apparently don't really worry what we think. If they did, they wouldn't do some of the irresponsible, self-serving stuff they do - stuff that clearly isn't in Alabama's best interest. It's up to us to flex our muscles, participate in the process, let politicians know what we do and don't want, and vote in every election and every race.

2)That we, the people, will decide - and then tell our legislators -- how we want to fund our state government.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist, much less a financial whiz, to see that in Alabama we don't raise enough revenue to pay for vital services and important programs. That's why in their 2015 session, legislators managed to level-fund the state's most critical services and also managed to raise a few taxes, albeit modestly. Otherwise, they ended up whacking the budget by more than $80 million.

There are several ways to raise money, including increasing taxes, reforming our underlying tax system (so that it generates more money from big businesses and wealthy individuals while relieving the poor of punitive and regressive taxes), and/or finding new revenue sources. The problem is, nobody seems willing to talk about realistic solutions.

Raise taxes? It's worth discussing, but the conversation is hampered by no-new-taxes Tea Partiers and lily-livered legislators who duck their responsibility by insisting that they promised constituents they'd never raise any taxes whatsoever.

Reform our tax code? Not as easy as it might sound, seeing as how much of our tax structure is enshrined in our outdated state constitution. Have you ever heard of Alabama's "big mules"? The term refers to the powerful coalition of agricultural, timber, industry and business interests that dominated state politics in the 20th century. The big mules have steadfastly kept property taxes artificially low, forcing the state to depend on regressive sales taxes that punish low-income Alabamians.

Find new revenue sources? In Alabama, that's code for legalizing some or all forms of gambling. You may agree with that approach, or you may not. But in order to give gambling a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, state leaders are going to have to give you the chance to actually vote on the idea.

Proponents insist that a state lottery and casino gambling could pump about $400 million a year into the state budget, while opponents insist that there are significant social consequences of legalized gambling; and meanwhile, nothing gets decided. Polls show that the people want to vote on it, so instead of wasting another year on pointless wrangling, why don't we make 2016 the year we put it on the ballot?

Besides settling the issue, saying yes or no to gambling could force legislators to also talk about taxes and tax reform - subjects many of them would rather avoid. And as long as we allow them to avoid such conversations, then agencies will continue to have to close state parks, cut environmental protection programs and underfund education, prisons, the courts, social services and children's services.

That's a high price to pay for failing to demand the best from our politicians and from ourselves. In 2016, let's do better.